Should we circumcise?
My wife and I are trying to have a baby. One of the biggest concerns we have if it is a boy is circumcision. I am circumcised and my first reaction is to say "Well I wouldn't go back so it is the right choice". But unfortunately there is more to it than that. Circumcision started, in my mind, to remove sexual pleasure from the male because sex was the road to sin and only for reproduction and should not be enjoyed. Many nerves are removed from circumcision and I have heard sex is more pleasurable for males not circumcised, but unfortunately that is hard to know for sure.
Then there is the idea that it is a part of our culture now and completely acceptable. But what is it really other than male genital mutilation? They say that is is healthier, but I have also heard that the data for that claim is inconclusive.
Female circumcision disgust me and yet many cultures practice it. To them it is normal. I am sure that uncircumcised females in those cultures have "ugly" vaginas to them just as a lot of women have told me that an uncircumcised penis is "ugly".
I have seen a circumcision and it is horrifying. I dont know if I should do this to my future son. There is the part of me that thinks it is normal and I should. Then there is the part of me that sees it as another brutal religious act setup by an ancient brutal god to remove our sexuality that we, for some reason, still practice like idiots. Then we go through all this trouble to "prove" it is healthy to mutilate sex organs to justify the insane act.
What are some of your thoughts on this?
Tags: circumcision, mutilation
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cameron on -
Actually my argument has consistently: "Don't let him get circumcised. I was, and I wish I hadn't been. Give him the choice when he understands it"
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Permalink Reply by Karen Lollis on -
When my son was born, I did not have him circumcised. I shared a hospital room with another new mom who had her baby circumcised. When it was finished she was sobbing - she asked me about my decision. Then she told me she wished she had talked to me before they had it done.
I probably would have had it done except that his dad had not been circumcised (given up for adoption at birth so they didn't circumcise right away, and I guess his adoptive parents just didn't get around to it). So I had researched the pros and cons and just couldn't figure out any good reason to go through with it. He's grown up now, and has never had an infection or problem of any kind.
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Permalink Reply by Unseen on -
While I've thrown it out a few times, nobody who favors uncut has really replied to the matter of HPV, especially since it is largely spread by males to females, with males functioning mostly as asymptomatic carriers. I guess we are leaving it up the females always always always use condoms, even if they don't otherwise need to.
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Permalink Reply by Cameron on
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women can get a vaccination, so can men (for their own protection if it is an issue)
woman can have condoms, and so should men. everyone should have condoms
I don't see the problem with this proposition
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Permalink Reply by Unseen on
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That's like arguing I can always not drive drunk and if I do everybody else on the road should be cautious even if I'm not.
Condoms are very imperfect protection.
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Permalink Reply by Cameron on
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Or it's like saying, people should use condoms to prevent the spread of STI's, not go out drinking and then drive...... O.o
Help me understand why a condom couldn't do a better job at prevention than removal of part of the penis.
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Permalink Reply by Misty: Baytheist Living! on -
I didn't mention it because I felt it was a non-issue.
I don't have unprotected sex and I'm vaccinated, anyway.
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Permalink Reply by Unseen on
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Good for you, but there are people who don't feel they need a condom and/or lie or are lied to.
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Permalink Reply by Misty: Baytheist Living! on
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Being circumcised doesn't PREVENT disease, though. It's not a magic bullet. All it does is possibly reduce the chances of two of the many, many STDs out there.
If you're being lied to and not wearing a condom, HPV is the least of your worries. Pregnancy, antibiotic-resistant syphilis, herpes.. the list goes on and on.
A potential (and contested) link that reduces the chances of two out of millions isn't a huge deal.. Certainly not enough to justify an irreversible surgery done without consent.
No one is saying the kid can't get cut. I'm just saying it should be his decision. If that's one of the factors he considers, that's great!
But as a woman, I'd never force a guy to ditch part of his body for my own (very slight) safety or benefit, especially when there are way more successful means of preventing transmission.
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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on -
Probably because most of us wash thoroughly, on a regular basis, which makes it a non-issue --
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Permalink Reply by Jaret on -
"HPV is so common that at least 50% of sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives." - CDC
It is so common and in a very large majority of cases, it goes completely unnoticed.
"In 90% of cases, the body’s immune system clears HPV naturally within two years. " - CDC
You guys are making a huge deal about HPV when it is not really that big of a deal. I am not going to say it should be overlooked. But of the 10-20 people who have posted on this topic, 5-10 of them have gotten hpv and probably never knew it.
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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on
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Neither have I, nor have i ever infected any females --
And no, Unseen, I don't "love 'em and leave 'em," so, "that you know of," is inappropriate.
How did I know you were going to say that? I'm psychic - or is that psychotic? - I always get those two mixed up --
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